In collaboration with Chicago based film artist Adebukola Bodunrin, Richard Dehmel’s poem Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”) and Arnold Schoenberg’s dark, visceral masterwork that it inspired come to life for a new generation in an astonishing experimental animation Bodunrin describes as “A celestial journey exploring intangible feelings and moods, drawing parallels between the expanse of space and the complicated depths of human emotions.” Cliff Colnot’s original arrangement of Verklärte Nacht for 5HE serves as the musical centerpiece of the program, expanding Schoenberg’s original string sextet to 5HE’s large mixed ensemble instrumentation.

Trailer:

Verklärte Nacht may be paired with contemporary chamber works by 5HE composer Dan Visconti (Soundings and Low Country Haze) and 5HE favorite Stacy Garrop (Frammenti), or with Caleb Burhans’s Excelsior (please see EXCELSIOR program listing for more details).

About Adebukola BodunrinAdebukola Bodunrin is a film, video, and installation artist who explores language, culture, and media. In her collage animations, she manipulates film using unorthodox manual and digital techniques in order to produce unexpected cinematic experiences. Bodunrin completed her Master of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been screened or exhibited nationally and internationally at venues that include the Jersey City Museum of Art, the Scope Art Fair, Onion City Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Nightingale, Chicago, Festival Animator, Poznań, Poland, Ok, Quoi? festival, Sackville, New Brunswick, Anthology Film Archives, New York, and the Black Cinema House, Chicago. She has participated in studio residences at the Chicago Artists Coalition as a participant of the BOLT residency, and at the Chicago Cultural Center. She lives and works in Los Angeles.

"In an era where we risk accountability driving out creativity, it is wonderful to have a program that allows students to learn content at high levels within a fine arts framework. 5HE has demonstrated excellence in using music to do what music does best - reaching minds and hearts."